A world of wonderful opportunities

The Down Syndrome Foundation of Florida believes that the more opportunities any individual is given the greater the likelihood of their success. Every successful athlete, academic achiever or musical prodigy has many dedicated hours of practice, study and effort. It is our goal to provide more and more opportunities throughout the community for individuals with Down syndrome to be involved and included - not just because it is the right thing to do, but because we know EVERYONE will benefit from it! Take a look at some of the wonderful opportunities we have for you!

The Foundation invites it's members to apply for scholarships for any activity of choice that you believe will benefit your child's ability to grow, interact with their peers and gain further social, academic and /or physical skills. The goal of this program is to help expand opportunities by providing financial support to families.

We know that you know your loved one best, and the best way to have him or her prepared for the world; learning, growing, exploring....is by getting them engaged in activities that are interesting and motivating to them as an individual. Our hope is to help families expand friendships and the natural talents of their loved ones while allowing the community to become more familiar with the benefits of including individuals with Down syndrome in their activities.

This scholarship is for individuals with Down syndrome of any age. The class / activity / sport is irrelevant - other than it has to be something your loved one is interested in. The sky is the limit - literally! You can choose dance classes, art classes, reading or math classes, hockey, soccer, volleyball or archery --- if they can dream it - we will help them do it!

This scholarship is for individuals with Down syndrome of school age (K-26). We understand there are times in the academic career of individuals with DS that additional tutoring or instruction can make a big difference in where they are placed or how readily they can advance with their peers. The purpose of this scholarship is to provide ADDITIONAL supports to indiviuals and families in the area of academic assistance.

This program does not cover basic school tuition or costs to attend a regular (or private) academic program, it is designed to provide financial support for tutoring or additional class support (reading, math, writing, language) that is primarily academic in nature and outside of the regular academic setting. To apply for this scholarship you must already have an establishment / teacher / program identified and a plan of action written up to submit along with your application. For more details about the Foundation Educational Scholarship please click here.

The Foundation IEP Scholarship ProgramWith the complexities of writing a legal document that outlines your child's educational goals and future there are times that it may be necessary to seek out additional supports and resources. There are several professionals in the community who lend their time and talent to these efforts. At the Foundation our goal is to provide families with the resources to navigate these documents on your own, however, if and when it becomes necessary to seek additional expertise for areas you are not certain about we understand your concern and will do our best to help you build the best document possible to support your child's education. Most of our IEP Scholarship funds will be given to members that have attended workshops about IEP topics. These funds are limited so we encourage our families to attend the Wrights Law conferences, the IEP phone meetings every Monday night (see the events page) and the workshops as they are available. Each Spring / Fall we will be hosting a full day seminar about the IEP process and as a participant in that seminar you will receive 2 FREE hours of IEP consulting. Watch the events page for up-coming IEP events. For more information about the IEP Scholarship Program, click here.

Water activities are a part of everyday life in Florida! Swimming is so much more than meets the eye! Swimming provides your child with excellent physical conditioning, social interaction, self-confidence, safety, increased ability to follow instructions and FUN!

The Foundation is pleased to announce that this summer you have the choice of where your child learns to swim. We are excited to continue our partnership with Lucky Fin Swim School (a special branch of The Swim Squad) because we know they provide safe, effective and fun swim lessons for ALL children. Our parntership with their organization and The Track Shack Foundation have been very successful, however, to allow more families the opportunity to swim this summer we have opened the scholarship to allow families to apply funds to any swim program they choose.

The ability to speak and pronounce words correctly can be a lot of effort for individuals with Down syndrome due to the low muscle tone and small oral structure that is typical with Trisomy 21. However, with hard work and the right tools, speech patters and pronunciation can be improved quite dramatically. The necessity to improve the oral motor abilities of individuals with Down syndrome isn't only important for speech, but also for proper eating and even breathing. One of the therapies that has proven to be very success to help individuals with Down syndrome improve their muscle tone, coordination, tongue placement, speech patterns and language is the Sara Rosenfeld-Johnson Talk Tools Methodology.

Known for it's fun programs using horns, whistles, bubbles, straws and more, the Talk Tools program is not a replacement for regular Speech Therapy, however, it does provide an addition evaluation and set of tools parents and local therapists can use to work with your child / loved one to improve many aspects of their daily life. The Foundation is proud to offer the services of Renee Roy-Hill again this December. To learn more about the last Talk Tools Clinic click here.